Eden's Gate

Chapter 4: Anxiety

The rest of the trip to the zoo had been enlightening. Kaitlyn had gone to the insect exhibit with Edelweiss and after deciding for the first time to focus on it realized that even ants had a mind, but it was so alien. She couldn't even understand what those feelings and thoughts they had were - if they could even be called those things. Most interestingly though was that their mind was a single unit formed by each individual. Any given ant knew what it was doing and what job it should be working at, but somehow they also knew if there were too many people doing their job, or not enough, and would always balance themselves out. It was fascinating.

Edelweiss had explained to her that this is how it worked for all ants - they had a hive mind, where each ant may as well be a neuron in the brain, each one of them working together to be collectively smart where the individual was stupid.

Kaitlyn picked her book and flashlight out of her drawer, and opened it. The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas. Her copy was an old, battered one from the library, well loved over its long tenure in the school. She had just started it, and while it was a hard read - like a lot of the older books - it was a fun one. She was enjoying it. She squirreled under the blankets and began to read, waiting until she got tired.

Eventually, she was distracted from her reading when the door opened, squeaking on its hinges as it always did. She peaked up from under the blankets and saw Edelweiss.

Edelweiss went to the vanity and looked over herself, checking under her eyes and her teeth. Kaitlyn immediately recognized this for what it was - anxiety.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked.

Edelweiss whipped around, genuinely surprised to see her friend there. Boy, she really was out of it. She knew Kaitlyn had gone to bed and liked to hide under the covers like this. After a moment catching herself, she shook her head.

"Tomorrow's scaring me," she admitted. "What if we don't make the cut?"

"Are you daft?" Kaitlyn asked, "Mum has loved us so much since we were kids. That won't stop being true just because we don't break Grade C!"

"We still are kids." Edelweiss pointed out. "Our abilities need time to grow. What if they haven't grown enough?"

Edelweiss was shaking, her trembling hands searching for something to hold. They found her hair brush, and she began to pull the loose strands of their hair out of it. Kaitlyn's golden blond, and her jet black.

"I'm sure that the reason they waited until we were 10 to Grade us is exactly that - they can know what our powers will be." Kaitlyn assured.

Edelweiss nodded. "Y-yeah, I guess..."

She put the brush down and stared at her reflection in the mirror for a minute, before finally speaking again.

"...do you think it will hurt?"

Kaitlyn shrugged, "I don't know. None of us do, you know that. But I don't think it will...they have to like, look at our powers right? They can do that with sixth sense, which you don't feel."

Edelweiss nodded again, and sighed. She wrung her hands out and did a quick breathing exercise. Breath in through the nose for four seconds, out through the mouth for four. She did this four times, before moving across the blue carpet and climbing up on the oakwood frame to the top bunk.

"Thanks, Kait."

"No problem, Eda."

Kaitlyn smiled and began to bury herself under the covers again.

"Are you going to be okay?"

She could feel the gentle wave of assurance coming from her as she said, "Yes. I think so."